Concordia Choir was founded in 2009, originally meeting in the Manor House school in Ashby. The original membership was predominantly made up of staff from the school and members of St. Helen’s Church, led by James Allen. The newcomers were in at the deep end and took first place at the 2010 Coalville Festival of Music for mixed voice choir.
The small group began to deliver concerts and started to grow, attracting members from across the East Midlands. When David Bean took over as MD in 2014 the choir performed at high profile local events, including the National Forest’s Timber Festival.
Under the guidance of Tom Stanyard, the choir has continued to develop into one of Leicestershire’s leading amateur ensembles, with audiences praising our diction, blend and engagement in performances. (And yes, we still have several original members!)
We now perform a wide variety of music in the local area, ranging from A Capella to Accompanied, Classical to Contemporary and Madrigals to Musicals, occasionally with professional soloists and instrumentalists.
A short video from the District Council, profiling a small grant we received towards our production of Mozart’s Sparrow Mass in November 2024.
Musical Director – Tom Stanyard LRSM
Tom is a Leicestershire born musician who received his early experiences under Brian Humpherson MBE.
He read Music at Keele University where he studied with Mezzo-Soprano Karen Radcliffe, graduating in 2012 after winning scholarships in Conducting and Performing. In 2018 he gained a Licentiate Diploma in Singing Performance from the Royal Schools of Music. He joined Concordia as MD in 2021 and is also MD for the Swadlincote Messiah Society and Organist for Mount St. Bernard Abbey.
Tom is in rising demand as a tenor soloist, with recent highlights including Schumann Dichterliebe in recital, Rachmaninoff Vespers, Mozart Requiem and Missa Brevis, Handel Messiah, Israel in Egypt and Judas Maccabeus, Haydn Creation and Rossini Petite Messe Solennelle. He currently studies with Alexandre Naoumenko and Massimo Modoni, and was recently invited to an international masterclass with Maestra Emanuela di Pietro where he performed scenes as Rodolfo (Puccini, La Boheme) Pinkerton (Puccini, Madama Butterfly) and Alfredo (Verdi, La Traviata).
http://www.tomstanyardtenor.co.uk
Accompanist – Andrew Chapman LRAM
Andrew qualified as a primary teacher at Chester College of Education and also gained his Licentiate Diploma in Piano teaching in 1978. His early musical experiences were in Leicester with St James the Greater choir and Leicester Philharmonic.
After teaching in a number of Leicestershire primary schools he moved to Staffordshire and worked for Entrust Music Services delivering the music curriculum to primary schools across the county.
He was Organist and Choirmaster of St Peter’s, Market Bosworth, before being appointed Director of Music for St. Helen’s, Ashby, in 2007. He is currently Organist at St. Helen’s.
Andrew joined Concordia in 2015 and is supposedly ‘semi-retired’ !
Sadly Andrew is leaving us at the end of 2025 to properly ‘retire’ ! – See vacancy details here
concordiachoir.co.uk 